Newslinks for Monday 24th November 2014

Robust Right 1) Paterson lays out his recipe for defeating UKIP

‘Mr Paterson sighs as he reflects on how his fellow Conservatives have tried to tackle the Ukip terrier snapping at David Cameron’s ankle. “The insults must stop. Most Ukip voters want robust and Conservative policies. Lower taxes. Cheaper energy. Honesty about immigration. Fairness for England. We give them Conservative policies and we win them back.” The Conservatives aren’t giving them Conservative policies at the moment? “Not enough of them.”’ – The Times (£)

Robust Right 2) Number 10 mulls restrictions on in-work benefits for EU migrants

‘Polish workers would lose out financially by moving to Britain for low-paid jobs if David Cameron adopts bold immigration reforms being considered by Number 10, a new study has found. Banning migrants from claiming in-work benefits would mean Poles on the average wage would be more than £50 worse off a week if they took up low-payed jobs in the UK, according to a report from Open Europe.’ – Daily Telegraph

Robust Right 3) Ridley: Gain influence by leaving the EU

‘In today’s speech on the European Union, previewed in this morning’s Times, Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, will make a surprising and telling point. It is that many of the rules handed down to British businesses and consumers by Brussels have often (and increasingly) been in turn handed down to it by higher powers. This means, he argues, that we would have more influence outside the EU than within it. We could rejoin some top tables.’ – Matt Ridley, The Times (£)

May 1) Coalition ‘unlikely’ to hit net migration target

‘The target of reducing net migration to below 100,000 a year has been abandoned by the Government after Theresa May admitted that it has been “blown off course” and was now “unlikely”. In an interview with The Telegraph, the Home Secretary appeared to confirm that the Government has now abandoned a “no ifs, no buts” pledge made by David Cameron to reduce net migration to the “tens of thousands” by next year.’ – Daily Telegraph

May 2) Home Secretary’s new push for online security measures

‘Her comments came as she prepared to unveil the Government’s Counter-Terrorism and Security Bill, which will contain a series of measures designed to prevent British-born jihadists who have travelled to Iraq and Syria returning to the UK. In the interview, Mrs May also Called on internet companies and social media sites to recognise their “responsibilities” and prevent extremist videos and propaganda being distributed online.’ – Daily Telegraph

British veterans volunteer to fight with Kurdish Peshmerga – The Times (£)

May 3) Child abuse cases are ‘only the tip of the iceberg’

‘Mrs May told BBC1’s Andrew Marr Show it was “not possible” to say whether there had been a cover-up in the abuse and murder of young boys. She said: “How was it that in the past, but continuing today, the very institutions of the state that should be protecting children were not doing so? We must as a society, I believe, get to the truth of that and because I think what we’ve already seen revealed is only the tip of the iceberg on this issue.”’ – The Times (£)

Ashcroft: After Rochester and Strood, all bets are off for 2015

‘The fact that the Conservatives are losing voters to Ukip while struggling to attract those who voted for other parties in 2010 suggests they have still not successfully shown what a Conservative government is for. This needs to be done on a broad front in a way that encompasses the economy and public services. For a wavering voter to plump for the Tories next May, they do not have to feel they are already benefiting from an economic recovery and tough decisions on public finances – but they do need to have an idea of what those benefits will be and how they will share in them.’ – Lord Ashcroft, The Guardian

Field: Miliband is cut off from voters by a Berlin Wall of millionaires

‘Ed Miliband’s clique of millionaire advisors are acting like a ‘Berlin Wall’ stopping Labour connecting with ordinary voters, backbench MPs have warned. The Labour leader is facing mounting criticism over his sacking of shadow minister Emily Thornberry over her ‘snobby’ tweet of a family home draped in England flags last week. Former welfare minister Frank Field said the incident was ‘the most serious thing that has happened’ to Labour – ‘because it gives vent to what everybody’s guts are telling them about us’.’ – Daily Mail

Gordon Brown to stand down in 2015

‘Former prime minister Gordon Brown is expected to announce his decision to step down as an MP at his annual Christmas party next week, ­according to a senior Labour ­insider. The Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath MP is set to confirm that he will not contest his seat at the general election in May.’ – The Scotsman

Fears for patients as NHS strike begins

‘Concern for hospital patients increased on Sunday night as NHS staff prepared to strike amid evidence of mounting waits at A&E units. Health workers including nurses, midwives, domestic staff and radiographers were due to walk out for four hours from 7am today in the ongoing row over pay. The strike will not affect emergency treatment but will add to the backlog of patients waiting for operations.’ – Daily Telegraph

Fabricant’s campaign on blood donations

‘Fabricant had cause to be annoyed by Bercow’s attempt to exclude him from the reception for Pink News. The gay rights website wanted to thank Fabricant for calling for curbs on gay blood donors to be scrapped. The MP puts it as only he can: ‘If you are a straight guy screwing three girls a night and never use a condom, you can give blood. But if you are a gay bloke in a monogamous relationship having safe sex, unless you sign an affidavit that you have been celibate for 12 months, you can’t.’’ – Daily Mail

There’s space for a million houses on brownfield sites

‘The number of new homes which could be built on brownfield land is being grossly underestimated by the government, which is allowing developers to target open countryside instead, according to the Campaign to Protect Rural England. There is enough brownfield, or previously developed, land in England for at least a million homes, a report by the charity says.’ – The Times (£)

Children bear heavy cost of divorce

‘Divorce has a devastating impact on the children of divided couples, leading to poor examination results and driving them to abuse alcohol or drugs, according to a survey being made public today. Almost two thirds of children whose parents divorced said that the break-up affected their GCSEs. One in eight said that they had turned to drugs or alcohol to ease the stress.’ – The Times (£)

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